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Endocrine Surgery Case Study

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By Jonas Wilson, Ing. Med.

Endocrine Surgery

Surgery with the key focus on one or more of the endocrine organs is referred to as endocrine surgery. The endocrine organs are glands located throughout the body, which, via the bloodstream, secrete hormones that are vital for maintaining homeostasis (i.e. a constant internal environment) and metabolism. These glands together make up what is known as the endocrine system, whose control and command centers are the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. Other endocrine glands are the endocrine pancreas, pineal, adrenal, thyroid and parathyroid glands. Specialists who conduct surgery on these glands are called endocrine surgeons.

Hypothalamus and pituitary gland

Hamartomas, although rare, are non-neoplastic tumors that arise in the hypothalamus and cause devastating consequences, such as seizures, cognitive impairment, behavioral and emotional troubles, hormonal imbalances and early puberty. Surgical removal of the tumor is warranted and surgeons take advantage of the physiological gap between the hemispheres of the brain to gain access to the tumor and remove it. Another less invasive approach is the use of laser generated stereotactic thermo-ablation, which uses light energy to destroy the tumor and surrounding damaged tissue. Likewise, a gamma knife may be used to …show more content…

Tumors of the pituitary gland are mostly benign adenomas that remain within the pituitary gland and do no metastasize, but cause symptoms due to hormone production (if they cause hormone production) and the mass effect of the tumor. Most pituitary gland tumors may not require treatment, but if the tumor is compressing the optic nerve, then surgery is necessary. There are two main surgical approaches: an endoscopic trans-nasal trans-sphenoidal (ETNTS) method and a trans-cranial

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